Tag: allthelists

As parents, we know that time management is essential. So essential that we write things down, put alarms on our phones, put sticky notes throughout our homes, we sync our phone’s calendars with your spouse’s and if you’re like me, you also put everything into a physical planner.

Maybe it’s overkill, maybe I am crazy, but this mom-brain that I have going on is no joke. It starts out as pregnancy-brain because your tiny little human is sucking out your brain cells, and then it turns into exhaustion that I am pretty sure is never ending.

I couldn’t have been happier when Momma’s Little Helper contacted us! With the school year starting, I have zero time to forget things and my old planner was just about done.

This day planner is not like any other because it was made specifically with busy moms. From cover to cover, it is detailed and designed to make your life easier!

About this awesome day planner:

It comes in two styles, flowers and damask.

“Academic planner.” There is plenty of room to write down assignments and projects you have to help your kids with, as well as school functions, classmate info and much more.

Plenty of space for your agenda & notes

Pockets on the inside of front and back covers.

Notes pages for each monthunlike most planners with just a small column or one page in the back.

August 2016 – July of 2017 and their 2017 January to December daily & weekly planners will be available in October 2016.

240 pages gives you plenty of space to write down to-do lists and whatever else you may need.

For stay at home moms: my planner stays in my diaper bag or purse almost 100% of the time. I like to physically write things down to help me remember them. I like that there are pages for emergency numbers, household contacts and family medical information. If I leave my kids at the sitter’s or a sitter is at my house, I can simply show them where to find the info without having to worry if they know everything in case of an emergency.

It’s small! It is only 8.5″ x 6″, so it fits in most purses and diaper bags. The pockets are the perfect size for receipts, notes, coupons, whatever odds and ends you might not want floating around your bag.

Space for to-do lists and other lists right inside the planner

For working moms: (Katie here, your resident working mom, busy body) I utilize a planner every single day. Not only would I lose my mind without a physical planner, but I also love to look back at my old planners and be nostalgic (you know, about years when I was busy going to the movies and on dates instead of arranging child care and pediatric appointments). I plan my life months in advance, so it’s ideal to be able to have a paper planner in front of me so that I can quickly flip to a date to see what I already have planned.

Nice, long columns for all of the important stuff I need to keep track of!

Likes: the front pocket. The front pocket of my planner usually contains all kinds of chaos that has been paper-clipped in. Now, I have a nice little pocket to hoard all kinds of ridiculous things in. The detailed front pages are fantastic. While I personally will never utilize any of the cooking tip pages (trophy wife of the year, I know) I’m sure plenty of other moms will love these pages. The tips at the top are fabulous. I love random trivia anyway, so I really love seeing it on each page. The layout is great and leaves plenty of space for details, and the quality of the planner is also really good.

Dislikes: I wish this planner had tabs like my current one does. Each month in my current planner has an easy-to-find tab that makes flipping through really easy. While this isn’t a huge downfall, it’s a nice perk and would be great to see in the next edition of this planner. Also, I find that this product could easily be marketed towards dads, too. Stay at home dads, working dads, coaches and dads that just like to use planners would also find it very beneficial. I’d like to see a product geared towards parents putting us all on a level playing field (though, if I saw my husband using a planner I might actually die of shock. He isn’t exactly organized).

Old planner on the left (almost outdated) and new planner on the right. Comparable in size and quality!

If you’re looking for a way to organize your day to day activities, Momma’s Little Helper is definitely the way to go. Be sure to check them out on Facebook and Instagram!

Happy planning!

– Amanda and Katie

**BurritoBuzz received these products at low or no cost for the purpose of review or testing. No compensation for a positive review was provided. All product reviews are based 100% off of our personal experiences and we never guarantee a positive review.**

*I am not a medical professional. All of this information has come from my own experience and research. If you have any serious questions please, consult a physician.*

OBGYN/ Midwife – Facts/ Questions/ To know

Level of Education- this is the major difference between the two. Midwives are typically a NP with around 6 years of school, whereas OBGYN’s have their PHD’s and have had somewhere around 10 years. They are trained on different things, and have different methods of doing thing. Read more on the difference of education here.

Birth Experience- What do you want your baby’s birthday to look like? It might end up completely opposite of what you planned, but are you a “Give me the drugs” woman or are you a “Lets breathe through this” woman?

OBGYN’s can intervene in the birth. {C-section, forceps, vacuum etc.} AND they are more likely to intervene sooner.

Pain Management – Do you want drugs? How are you planning to deal with the pain? Do you want someone to administer drugs or propose some other techniques first? Chances are an OBGYN isn’t going to massage your back during contractions.

Do you want to move around, or do you want to stay in bed? – Midwives are more apt to let you go without consistent monitoring.

Are you high risk?– High blood pressure, epilepsy, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, etc. If you are high risk chances are you want a doc present 24/7

Do you already have a doctor that you love, and have been going to since you were 16? – If you do then they know you pretty well, and will no doubt give you a great birth experience.

…..I had to

Appointments – CNM’s (certified mid wife) tend to have more time allotted for their appointments to chat, get to know you, and answer questions, but most importantly ASK the questions that are important!

Go with your gut! – If you are scared to death of needles, and have zero pain tolerance than chances are you aren’t going to want a natural birth and a midwife. But, if you want to have a natural birth, or even a medicated birth, but want someone there to help you and support you through it the whole time, then a midwife is perfect for you.

Why I chose a midwife…….

I wanted a natural birth, completely un-medicated. “I can do this, I was made for this” was my typical answer when people asked me why!

Vaginal birth was a priority! There is a high percentage that you will have a c-section with OBGYN. This article has a lot of great comparisons!

I wanted a care giver, not someone who was going to get pulled to another room while I was in the middle of intense labor. It depends on your practice, and midwife, but my midwife was able to stay with me (or near my room….she left for bathroom breaks, food, paperwork etc) during my entire labor! There was no “Don’t push we are waiting for the doctor”!

I did NOT want medication or any type of IV. I had all the tools I needed to manage my pain, my baby and I were healthy, I was eating and drinking up until I got the hospital, and I had a water bottle that I was continually drinking from after…..there was no need for an immediate IV for fluids, Pitocin, or anything else! My midwife supported me in my decision and never encouraged me otherwise. She was always looking out for my best interest! We went over my birth plan well before labor was a possibility and she knew what I wanted. She was running the show, but on MY terms! If anything was medically necessary then it happened, but otherwise it was my body and I getting my baby into the world!

A midwife gave me the ability to have the birth I wanted, but I was in the safety of a hospital in case something went wrong. AND she worked alongside my OBGYN! I met with him a few times during my pregnancy to monitor my thyroid function’s effects on my baby.

*I am not a medical professional. All of this information has come from my own experience and research. If you have any serious questions please, consult a physician.*

Trying to get pregnant? Already pregnant? Are you asking yourself “Why isn’t there a list of EVERYTHING I need to know/get ready?”

I was there! I read about 500 million articles, sifted through the nonsense, made about 20 lists a day, and drove my DH and family crazy!

I am a planner, but more than that I am an anxious planner. Those lists I made, not only did I stress about what was on them, I stressed about what to put on them! What am I going to forget? What order should I do things in?

Fast forward 2 ½ years, and I feel like I am removed enough from pregnancy and the post-partum hormones to share some of my lists with you! Yes, my precious lists of articles, topics, products, and resources at your fingertips. And, don’t you worry I will add a PDF version at the end of these posts without all of my commentary for you to print if you wish.

These are the lists that I had in my notebook that I carried around. They are most definitely not everything you need to know, nor do you need to stress about everything that I did. I just always felt like the more I read, and understood the less anxiety that I had! Everyone has their own opinion about things, and you can find about 50 different opinions about every topic, but at least I was aware, and not completely clueless.

You might think I am completely outside my mind making lists for everything, but if it helped me, I am hoping it helps someone else!

~Amanda

***Be sure to check the blog for updates! This series will post over the course of a few days!